Monday, June 23, 2008

Arsenal for Western States

Race is five days away and I'm pretty much crapping my pants. It's a good kind of crapping my pants though. Just a lot of excitement laced with nervousness.

I was musing during my morning run how this is so much different than when I ran the Vermont 100 last year. It was my first 100 miler back then, and while I couldn't have been happier with how it all went, I was doing it after coming off an injury and losing a lot of training, so the expectations were very low.

Not this time. No sir. I'm well trained (for me), know what I'm doing just a little more, and quite a few people will be following my progress online. Yeah, there's pressure. But pressure is good. Makes it all the more exciting. Exciting is the opposite of boring. Boring bad. Excitement good.

All of my gear is organized and I'm pleased with the arsenal I've assembled. As of now, I'm planning on having three drop bags (might add a fourth). The race officials changed the rules this year in that drop bags can't really be any bigger than a shoe box. Mine were never going to be that big anyway, so no big whoop. All will have Clip2, Gu, and S! Caps.

They'll be at:

1) Last Chance (43.3) - this aid station is before a grueling climb up to Devil's Thumb. Good point to stock up.

2) Foresthill (62.0) - Crews also have access here and this where I pick up my pacer, Stephen. I only want one here really for my headlamp, just in case there's an alien invasion and the Slitheen hold up my crew from getting there. You see, it's important to take these things into consideration.

3) RuckyChucky Far (78.1) - A pair of socks will be in this bag, since it's right after the river crossing. Some extra batteries as well.

In addition to the drop stations and Foresthill, there will be three other additional points (miles 29.7, 55.7, 93.5) where crews have access, excluding the start and finish. And of course, a whole host of other manned aid stations, so I should be well covered. Just ready to get my butt on the plane on Wednesday and get over there!

As for today, the morning run went well. Very muddy with the huge thunderstorms we had yesterday afternoon, so it made it all the more fun. With the short distances I've been running in the taper, the legs were raring to go. Pace was fast, given the technicality of the trails and the mud.

Race is five days away and I'm pretty much crapping my pants~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ahhhhh I am crapping my pants also with excitement ... Jamie going to be blast to follow you and a few others that I know that have been training hard for this Classic Event!

It's ur time, Enjoy it & knock it out!! You ARE sooo Ready!!!

OK I need to relax now & take some deep breaths...this tapering through others is pretty exhausting :-)

I believe they'll have S! caps on the course, but I could be wrong. You could also consider not changing shoes after the river crossing, as with the dry air, things dry very quickly. Last year, I had clean/dry socks and shoes at "the Far Side" but didn't want to waste the time to change.

It's great to see how prepared you are! With your training and your prep, you should be all set to run the race of your life!! I know you'll enjoy every step, even the tough ones, because of all the hard work you've put into them!